Q. I was a caregiver for my father-in-law two decades ago, and I experienced a terrible scare. I took him into my home when he developed fronto-temporal dementia and he lived with my family. He would get angry at me a lot and sometimes even violent, and it terrified me to be around him. I did my best to care for him, but the truth is that I was stressed beyond measure, and should’ve gotten him skilled care instead of completely shouldering the burden myself, not sleeping, losing my friends, and not being there for my own children (who were young at the time).

Now, I am a caregiver once again, for my husband who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, but I still get very anxious and traumatized when I look back to the time I was caregiving for his dad. I think that my anxiety is beyond normal, as I still experience physical reactions, such as increased heart rate and rapid breathing just by thinking about it. Even certain sounds or smells make me anxious and I have distressing dreams and flashbacks of his angry tirades often. My symptoms sound like PTSD, from what I have read. But, I’m curious — is it actually possible for caregivers to develop PTSD? I made an appointment with a therapist, and hopefully that will help. I want to be there for my husband in his time of need also. Do you have any suggestions for people like me, so I can be the best caregiver I can be and to lessen my stress as much as I can? Thanks!